Global phone hacks expose darker side of Israel’s ‘startup nation’ image

That slick image appears to have taken a hit with new reports that once again Israeli-founded technology, like the Pegasus software from the firm One of the most elite units of the Israel Defense Forces is the secretive Unit 8200, the cyber spy agency that has produced some of the country’s biggest tech super stars.”One of the unique things in Israel, is the ‘cynergy,’ the bringing together of cyber and synergy between industries,” Pavel told CNN, before alluding to a characteristic he says is perhaps rooted in the Israeli psyche. “There is also something here … maybe there is also the struggle to survive. If everything is happy and you’re not constantly trying to survive (against people trying to destroy you), you don’t have to innovate, to cope.”NSO falloutNSO was founded in 2009, but it wasn’t until 2016 that the power of NSO’s technology came under scrutiny.It was in that year that reports emerged that Emirati human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor received suspicious text messages with links, that researchers at Pegasus software was also allegedly connected to the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi via fellow dissident Omar Abdulaziz, whose Beyond its actual capabilities, companies like NSO also help Israel diplomatically, Bachar said, as Israel has for years quietly, and now publicly, cultivated relationships with former adversaries. “One of the tools that Israel uses diplomatically is its ability in intelligence. It’s not a secret that Israel is sharing sensitive intelligence even with Arab countries because we have an interest in protecting them,” Bachar said. But Professor Yuval Shany, chair of the public international law department at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says the tactic is starting to backfire on Israel’s image. “The logic is Israel may be willing to turn a blind eye to transactions that are conducted with friendly regimes in the sense that they are friendly to Israel but not necessarily friendly to human rights,” Shany said. “I think this recent scandal, which is quite embarrassing both for NSO but also for Israel, would lead at least in the short run to some tightening of export controls standards.” How to control the uncontrollableUnlike conventional weapons, software is often intangible and can easily be sold and transferred across the globe, making attempts to control technology like the Pegasus system difficult. NSO and similar military-grade technology is regulated by an export control structure within Israel’s Ministry of Defense, Shany said. This system looks both at the technology and the target; which entity — either state or non-state — is purchasing this technology including its human rights record, he added. But, Shany said, looking at the allegations around NSO’s Pegasus software, “the results are not impressive, it’s quite concerning.”In response to the most recent allegations around NSO technology, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said they are “studying” the claims, while an interministerial team has been appointed to look into the current process and whether Israeli-made technology was being misused abroad, according to Reuters.’);$vidEndSlate.removeClass(‘video__end-slate–inactive’).addClass(‘video__end-slate–active’);}};CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;var configObj = {thumb: ‘none’,video: ‘tv/2021/07/19/amanpour-spyware-nso-pegasus-khashoggi-hacking.cnn’,width: ‘100%’,height: ‘100%’,section: ‘international’,profile: ‘expansion’,network: ‘cnn’,markupId: ‘body-text_38’,theoplayer: {allowNativeFullscreen: true},adsection: ‘const-article-inpage’,frameWidth: ‘100%’,frameHeight: ‘100%’,posterImageOverride: {“mini”:{“width”:220,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-small-169.jpg”,”height”:124},”xsmall”:{“width”:307,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-medium-plus-169.jpg”,”height”:173},”small”:{“width”:460,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-large-169.jpg”,”height”:259},”medium”:{“width”:780,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-exlarge-169.jpg”,”height”:438},”large”:{“width”:1100,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-super-169.jpg”,”height”:619},”full16x9″:{“width”:1600,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-full-169.jpg”,”height”:900},”mini1x1″:{“width”:120,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210719190433-amanpour-dana-priest-small-11.jpg”,”height”:120}}},autoStartVideo = false,isVideoReplayClicked = false,callbackObj,containerEl,currentVideoCollection = [],currentVideoCollectionId = ”,isLivePlayer = false,mediaMetadataCallbacks,mobilePinnedView = null,moveToNextTimeout,mutePlayerEnabled = false,nextVideoId = ”,nextVideoUrl = ”,turnOnFlashMessaging = false,videoPinner,videoEndSlateImpl;if (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === false) {autoStartVideo = false;autoStartVideo = typeof CNN.isLoggedInVideoCheck === ‘function’ ? 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technology from being acquired by dangerous elements. Shany said Israel currently adheres to the agreement but is not a formal member. But the most important reforms to help controlling such technology will come from within, said Karine Nahon, a professor at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and President of the Israel Internet Association. “If Israel doesn’t export it someone else would, if you don’t give those engineers and startup licenses and provide a kind of supervision nothing stops them from moving to another country and selling it from there,” she said. Nahon is calling for the ethical consideration and the possibility such technology will be exploited to become a more significant part an export decision. And, she suggested, the companies should place more limitations on the software’s use and have more oversight into how their clients are using the software — something NSO says it has little control over.”NSO does not operate the system and has no visibility to the data,” the company said in a statement last week, saying it will continue to investigate “all credible claims of misuse and take appropriate action based on the results” of such investigations.”It makes it more complicated in terms of the responsibility of these companies and Israel but on the other hand it might minimize the number of countries this software is being exported to,” Nahon said. Even though it may seem like NSO and Israel’s image is being dragged through the mud for its connection to such alarming surveillance, Bachar said overall it could have a positive effect for those who want to continue burnishing Israel as a leader in advanced technology and intelligence operations. “I think sometimes people come to curse and the outcome is there is a blessing because what happened at the end of the day, people remember that the best technology is Israeli technology, NSO,” Bachar said. “That’s what people three months from now will remember.”